


Stygian Feathers

by NitroTheKidd



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Leads the PT, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Amamiya Ren is a detective, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Major Spoilers!!, Multi, Other, Suicide Attempt, goro akechi is a weeb, goro and ren get new personas, there's gonna be more tags as i continue writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 13:54:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15708573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NitroTheKidd/pseuds/NitroTheKidd
Summary: In which the detective is now a thief, and the thief is now a detective.





	Stygian Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> The story opens with a spiteful boy on an unforgiving journey.

 

Akechi Goro never wanted to return to Tokyo. Not like this.

 

The whole train ride, he had done nothing but glare out the window. Idle chatter of the latest news and gossip-  _shutdown this,_   _election_ _that_ \- it all went in one ear and out the other. Little more than the buzzing of side characters, . It was _that man_ , crawling into his life simply to ruin it further. _That man_ was the reason for this disgusting feeling welling within his heart. And _that man_ was the reason why Akechi Goro would spend a whole year on probation, with a falsified criminal record.

 

Every time he'd appear on the news, with false smiles and concern, he would try and avoid thinking about _that man_. It wasn't healthy. He had better things to do than to work himself up over that  _scumbag._ _Despite_ how he had been wronged before. Despite  _his **mother...**_

 

With a clench of his fist, he took a deep breath. In through his nose, and out through his mouth. His heart soothed, and he returned his focus to the passing skyline, bitter.

 

In layman’s terms, he was pissed.

 

He was meant to stay with a former friend of his mother. Just for a year.  _Where the hell were they, all these damn years?_ The feeling spoke within his head, stirring once more, plaguing his focus. He shoved his vindictive thoughts to the side once more, about as roughly and suddenly as they came in.

 

He could contain himself for a year. He could quell this feeling for a year.

 

Yet, his fist clenched tighter, his rage only deepening.

 

_Just for a year._ Goro reminded his wrath.

 

He feared it wouldn't listen.

 

* * *

 

 

There wasn't anyone to greet him, as he exited the subway.

 

There wasn't anyone to greet him, as he entered the bustling streets.

 

Seemed he was on his own, as per usual.

 

Goro checked his phone, irritably. It wasn't that far a walk from here, but some guidance would have been nice. Maybe some company, too. He knew better than to hope for these sorts of things, by now. He knew better that such luxuries were a star-crossed fate, for someone like him. His glare deepened, and he forced himself to yet again swallow the ugly feeling down his throat- practically choking on its expanse as he did so.

 

As he swiped out of the GPS, however, he quickly noticed something astray.

 

_...Metaverse.. Navigator..?_

 

_“What the hell is this?”_

 

He tapped it. Out of sheer curiosity.

 

It was almost like time froze, as he did. Grinding to a sudden halt- the noise, the people, it all ceased. The wind continued to blow- harder and harder, yet never pushing him back.

 

Goro’s eyes were drawn to the direction of the wind. A blue flame. A figure. A being. A _Persona_.

 

It was calling to him. _Persona._ The power was his to take. Eyes formed within the flames- eyes burning with rage. The same rage he was forced to quell, the same anger and agitation that would never leave him be. Something like that visualizing itself- visualizing  _his **will**_ \- unfathomable. And yet, there it stood.

 

Before he could reach out, allow the deity to merge with him, to grant him the power he _so desperately longed for_ \- time continued. The flames vanished.

 

… A hallucination?

 

No… It felt too real.

 

* * *

 

 

_“Excuse me, do you know where I could find Mr. Sakura?.. No? Thank you for your time.”_

 

Every time Goro had to repeat this, he wanted to puke. Every shack he looked at was the exact same- it all blended in. Yongenjaya was indeed an area he was familiar with- an area that was as foul as the rest of Tokyo. A small street shoved between a pair of highways- nothing special. Just a bunch of ants crawling through a colony.

 

Eventually, he found his way to Sakura’s house- only to then figure out he wasn't even there. When he knocked, no one bothered to answer. There was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to scream to the heavens, find the old bastard, and deck him across the face. Yet, it was better than living on the streets.

 

Even then, that was better than an orphanage.

 

It was only through more prodding that he found Sakura’s café. _Leblanc._ Must be European-inspired... Despite the fact that its special was a bizarre combo of coffee and curry. The bitterness and the spice- he felt his face twist at the idea... He barred the thoughts of contempt from his head, put on a straight, pleasant face, and opened the door.

 

It was quiet and empty when he walked in. Only the dull buzz of the TV, and the bubbling of boiling coffee.

 

_“Huh..?”_ The man behind the counter looked up at him- middle aged, brown hair, and a curling beard _(Like Jigen…)_ He pushed up his glasses, with a frown. _"Oh, right... You’re here early.”_

 

_Ah. I see. I’ll come back later._ Just one of the snarky responses he had to swallow down. Again, he pushed down the ever-boiling feeling. Just a year. Just one year.

 

_“Is that an inconvenience, sir?”_

 

_“Nope… Makes my job hell of a lot easier if you’re on top of things.”_ Sakura stepped out from behind the bar. Goro was taller- by a couple centimeters. Maybe that slouch helped his case, too.

 

_“Welp, you know who I am already. I’m Sojiro Sakura. I was a... friend of your mother.”_ Goro nodded, grimly, quietly.  _"Y'know, I was wondering what sort of unruly kid would come in here... You just look like a lost puppy."_ He wondered, briefly, if he should've taken offense to that. It meant his facade was working, at least...  _"Enough of that. Come with me."_

 

Goro nodded- following Sakura to the back of the small cafe. Aside from the bathroom, there was a stairway- leading to an attic.

 

While Sakura wasn’t looking, Goro frowned, deeply. It was small, cramped, and dusty. It looked like an abandoned supply closet, more than anything, with the old fart's junk scattered every which way. A small, meager bed was propped up to the side- on a thin and flimsy mattress. 

 

_“You’ll be staying up here... I'll at least give you a couple bedsheets.”_

 

Goro nodded, begrudgingly. He didn't want to interject- _you brought this upon yourself, so don't complain, kid_ , spoke a mocking impression in his head. And, well, he shouldn't. 

 

Guess it was too much to assume he'd be staying in an actual room.

 

_"What? You look like you wanna say something."_

 

_"It's... It's big."_ he lied. Maybe all of the shit scattered around took up more space than he would.

 

_“I didn't really clean up- so I suppose you have something to do today, huh?”_ His scowl deepened further at Sakura’s joking tone. He only hummed in false agreement. As Sakura turned back to him, Goro’s glare returned to a benign default.  _"Anyways, I'll be leaving after locking up each day... You'll be alone at night, but don't try anything stupid. I'll throw you out at the first sign of trouble."_

 

The rational part of him knew Sakura's standards were reasonable. Didn't mean he liked that condescending attitude that came along with it. Again, he gave him a nod.

 

_“Now then... I've heard your story. You got involved in something you shouldn't have. A man was forcing himself on a woman, you leaped in to protect her, he got injured, and you were sued. Is that right?"_ Again, Goro nodded. His gloved hands balled into fists once again.  _"And now that you got a criminal record, you've been expelled from your high school... Y_ _ou’ve got a lot to learn… You don't get anything good by messing with the adults. You’ve dug your own grave, kid.”_

 

_“With all due respect, you don't know my side of the story-”_

 

_“And I don't_ _have_ _to.”_ Sakura cut him off. _“It doesn't matter if you’re right or wrong. The one with authority wins. That’s just how it is.”_

 

Goro quickly silenced himself. The words were harsh, yet true. He'd know better than anyone.

 

_“I’m not here to vouch for you. If anything happens to you, it’s on you. It’d be better for the both of us if you didn’t screw up again... I'm still in the restaurant business here, you know."_

 

He swallowed down any and every remark that was even mildly irritable, quelling that disgusting feeling that once again rose.

 

_"We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow. You're lucky there's any sort of place that accepts someone like you, y'know..."_ Then he added something under his breath, too quiet for Goro to catch. There was a part of him that was grateful.

 

_“Also, here.”_

 

Sakura handed him something. Some sort of book. As he flipped through its pages- empty.

 

_“You know what it’s for, right?”_ Written records. Of course. Goro nodded, curtly. Couldn't even be bothered to do it himself. By now, he wasn't even surprised. _"Then it seems we’re good here.”_

 

With that, Sakura walked back down the stairs, leaving Goro to his own devices once agai

**Author's Note:**

> This is an incredibly experimental project, so I hope you'll all stick around!
> 
> As it's been awhile since I played P5, and I can't find an official transcript anywhere, some of the interactions might be a bit... off. I'll correct them once I can find a transcript!
> 
> The chapters in the beginning might be a bit short, but once all the introduction fluff is out of the way, maybe I can expand more! I'll also be going back to revise, if I make a mistake, or just want to add some more to a chapter.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!


End file.
